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New Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG revealed

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Mercedes-Benz used Tuesday’s second Formula One test at the Barcelona circuit in Spain as the backdrop for the unveiling of its latest road-going performance car, the SL63 AMG.

Set to go on sale in North America in July, the two-seat roadster was revealed by the Mercedes AMG Petronos drivers, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, fresh from unveiling their team’s new F1 car, the MGP W03.

In line with its standard sibling, the SL63 AMG eschews steel construction for the first time, adopting an aluminum and magnesium structure that, in combination with a carbon-fiber trunk lid and vacuum die castings within the chassis, is claimed to bring a significant 276-pound reduction in curb weight, at 4,068 pounds.

The new car is differentiated from lesser versions of the sixth-generation Mercedes SL through an extensive body kit developed at AMG’s headquarters. It’s an aggressive and rather purposeful-looking machine, lacking the elegance and grace of earlier go-fast versions of the German carmaker’s upmarket roadster.

Hallmark features include a deeper front bumper with larger cooling ducts, AMG-specific LED daytime running lights, a unique double-louver grille and V8 biturbo badges along the flanks. There are also widened sills, a subtle deck spoiler and altered rear bumper housing an integral diffuser and four trapezoidal chromed tailpipes.

As with the last two generations of AMG’s performance roadster, the SL55 AMG and the outgoing SL63 AMG, the new one receives an aluminum folding hardtop roof. It retracts and stows within the top of the trunk within 20 seconds. As with the smaller SLK55 AMG, it will come with the new automatically tinting Magic Sky roof as an option.

The new SL63 AMG ditches its predecessor’s naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 engine for a more contemporary twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V8 powerplant that, in keeping with all recent new AMG models, will be sold in two different states of tune. In standard guise, the four-valve-per-cylinder unit, known internally under the code name M157, kicks out 529 hp at 5,500 rpm. By comparison, the outgoing SL63 AMG offered 518 hp.

An even bigger departure centers around the torque, which rises from a previous 465 lb-ft at 5,200 rpm to a significantly more muscular 590 lb-ft between 2,000 and 4,500 rpm.

Output increases with the addition of a performance package that brings a different intake manifold, greater turbocharger boost pressure and a lightly modified exhaust system with reduced back pressure, rising to 556 hp at the same 5,500 rpm and a towering 663 lb-ft on a 1,500-rpm-narrower band of revs between 2,250 and 3,750 rpm.

The prodigious reserves are channeled through AMG’s Speedshift gearbox to the rear wheels. The seven-speed unit uses an automatic clutch in place of a conventional torque converter and comes with steering-wheel-mounted paddles and a launch-control function called race start.

Mercedes puts the new SL63 AMG’s 0-to-62-mph time at 4.3 seconds--or 4.2 seconds with the performance package. This places it on par with the latest BMW M6 cabriolet for pure straight-line speed--although with two extra seats and a larger trunk, the latter arguably provides greater everyday practicality.

Underpinning the new SL63 AMG is a heavily upgraded version of the standard SL’s newly configured chassis, with a four-link front and multilink rear suspension that use uniquely tuned active air springs and dampers as part of an upgraded version of the Mercedes ABC (active body control) system.

In combination with a new electromechanical steering system boasting variable assistance, it is claimed to bring greater overall agility, reduced roll angles and a greater spread in overall ride quality, which can be altered at the push of a button.

The standard wheels are 19-inch, shod with 255/35 front and 285/30 rear tires. Most buyers, though, are expected to opt for the optional AMG performance studio option that mates 19-inch wheels and 255/35 rubber up front with 20-inch wheels and 285/30 rubber at the rear.

As with all recent AMG models, the new SL63 AMG also receives a three-stage ESP (electronic stability program) system, in which the sport handling mode provides intervention-free running. Also available is a locking rear differential as part of what Mercedes dubs an AMG performance suspension option.

Reining in the considerable performance is a newly developed AMG brake system that uses vented and cross-drilled 15.6-inch steel discs with six-piston calipers up front and vented and cross-drilled 14.2-inch steel discs with single-piston floating calipers at the rear--the calipers painted red on versions running the optional performance package.

Also planned from the start of SL63 AMG sales is an optional carbon-ceramic brake package, using giant 15.8-inch front and 14.2-inch rear discs with six and single floating piston calipers, respectively--a combination already available on the SLS63 AMG.